Attack of the Black Snakes
by Mchan338
Summary: A young boy who obtains and carries strange powers immediately moves to Maryland for the summer before his first year of college and after graduating from high school. While on his journey, he solves mysteries, meets familiar people and accompanies with them. He then gets involve in a gang known as the Black Snakes. Now it is up to him to stop this terrifying group from havoc.
1. The Moving Trip After High School

**Attack of the Black Snakes**

_By Maxwell Chan_

**Chapter 1 **

The day is June 28, 2017, Max just arrived in the state of Maryland by plane. It was 2 weeks after he graduated from his senior year of high school. He moved out of California and into Maryland to spend his college years. He was happy and relieved that he was able to make the move after the many conflicts he's went through with family and other people. He stood by the entrance of the airport looking at the sight of Annapolis, Maryland.

It all started the day after he graduated. Max's mom saw him packing. "What are you doing?" She asked. "I'm moving to Maryland. I've been accepted into a college over there." Max replied. "You're not moving. You're going to stay here and go to college here just like your brothers." She said. She began talking more reasons into not letting him move. Max didn't pay attention to what she was saying and the more she kept talking and talking, his anger was building up. Eventually his eyes began turning black and he was angry. "I don't care!" He yelled. "I'm moving the Maryland and that's final! I don't want to live in California forever! I've already suffered through many conflicts between the family and others! What do you need from me anyway? All I do is get into other people's ways! You guys are better off without me anyway!" He rushed out of the house, grabbed his car and drove away from home.

Max was what many people considered as strange. He wears a black uniform with black pants and a white T-shirt underneath his black coat as well as black leather shoes. He also adapts to the power of telepathy and has two different personalities. The first one being his regular self with brown eyes and acts completely nice. The other one is when his eyes turn black, he begins to get angry. No one knew about the type of power he has. It is all a mystery that no one would ever find out.

It was evening and Max was sitting at a bench looking at a lake. He drove about 40 minutes away from his home and he was still upset at his mom. "Hey Max, are you okay?" He began to look where the voice was coming from until he saw his friend, Wendy. "Oh yeah, I'm just feeling out of the weather right now." She began to sit right next to him. "Tell me what's wrong?" She said. "Well…it's just issues I've been having and I needed to cool off" He replied. "Well try not to let those get to you. Don't worry; everyone goes through issues in their lives. I'm sure things will get better soon from time to time." Wendy said. "Are you sure? I've been going through a lot lately." Max continued to stare at the lake and then looked back at Wendy. "Thank you, Wendy. It's not easy being without you." They begin to hug. "I-I love you, Wendy."

They spent the rest of the hour at the lake talking. "So you live around here?" Max asked. "Yeah" Wendy replied. "Wendy, in two weeks, I'm about to move away from here to Maryland" "Oh really? What for?" She asked. "I've been accepted into a college over there. I'm going to be living there for my years of college" Max began to look down at himself. "Oh really? That's really cool" Wendy began talking some more but Max wasn't paying attention. He began to tear up while Wendy was talking. She paused in the middle of her sentence and noticed the look on his face. "Max, what's wrong? Are you crying?" He began to cry and hugged her tightly. "Wendy…I don't want to leave you…but I have to go…!" Wendy held onto him and felt really bad for him. "Wendy, I want to be with you for as much as I can…at least for the 2 weeks I have before I go…" "You can stay over at my place if you want" Wendy said. Max was feeling happy but he was still tearing up. They stayed over at Wendy's house for the 2 weeks that Max had.

Max's family drove Max to the airport in the morning. "Come back to us whenever you can" His mom said. "Whatever" Max thought to himself as he got out of the van, grabbed his luggage and headed to the airport. When he went inside, he saw Wendy waiting for him. "You'll come back to visit, will you?" She asked. "I will come back, for you." They hugged and they waved goodbye. Max knew that he was going to be on his own without anyone to help him.

A week after Max's first arrival in Maryland, he began to drive more around the city he was living in. He had been exploring Maryland since he had arrived. It was a lot colder than in California but it was worth his traveling experience. He gets out of his house and into his car and starts driving around. He parks near a park and begins to walk around. About 30 minutes into his walk, he begins to notice two people from the distance. He saw a boy a few years younger than Max's age and alongside is a girl the same age as the boy. The boy was wearing the same uniform as Max except with a black T-shirt and brown leather shoes. Max knew the two of them were very familiar to him. He began to remember who they were and when he found out, anger started flowing up inside him and his eyes begin to turn black.


	2. A Familiar Surprise

**Attack of the Black Snakes**

_By Maxwell Chan_

**Chapter 2**

Max couldn't believe his eyes when he saw the boy and the girl. Memories came back to him. And exactly what he thought, they were who he knows them as, Ethan Josh and Kate. He saw the past of a conflict between himself, Josh and Kate coming to him and anger started flowing up and his eyes begin to turn black. He marched his way to them. He grabbed Josh by the arm and pulled him into an alley. "July 5, 2014, what did you do?!" He begins to say to him. Josh looked at him very confused as if he didn't remember who he was. "Wh-What are you talking about?" Josh said. Max threw a massive punch to Josh's face. "You know exactly what I'm talking about!" Max continued grabbing onto Josh's shirt harder. Then Josh looked at Max very closely and he begins to recognize his face. Josh looked surprised, "Max? But how—""How did I know and remember what happened? It's simple. I don't forget very easily!" Max said. Kate caught up to them. "You still haven't gotten over that for this long? Why can't you let all that go?" She yelled. Max continued to grab onto Josh's shirt while looking at her, "What do you know? All you know is that you are protective on his side no matter what the situation is." He looked back at Josh, "Now tell me! Tell me why did you have to make me go through all that suffering!" Max begins to combo Josh with multiple punches. After a 20 seconds Kate began to snap, "Stop it, Max! That's enough!" Immediately, Max's eyes turned back to normal. He slowly turned to Kate and then to Josh. Without saying anything, he ran off to his car and drove back home.

Max sat in the living room of his house feeling depressed. He couldn't believe he met up with Josh and Kate after 3 years. He was never expecting the appearance of them to come so soon. "Why do I know them? Why did all of this happen?" he thought to himself. For the rest of the afternoon, all Max could think about was the past between him, Josh and Kate. He laid down on his couch and rest.

On evening, Max drove around the city to continue his exploration around Maryland. He parked near the town square and started walking. As he was walking, he begins to notice several people dress in black suits just like what Josh was wearing; they were standing and sitting around smoking cigarettes and drinking alcohol. Max knew there was suspicious about them. As he walked farther, he heard noises. He looked around and he saw the boys chasing around and killing or kidnapping innocent people. Max was in shocked as he stood there not knowing what to do. He had no weapons to help the innocent people being attacked by the boys. "You might want to keep your distance away from them" Max looked right next to him and saw an ordinary person. He had long flat hair and is completely unharmed. "These guys are what people in the state know them as the Black Snakes" he said. "How long have these guys been around?" Max asked. "About a year" the guy said. Max continued asking more questions to know more about the Black Snakes. "Doesn't someone do anything to stop them? Like the police?" Max asked. The guy said, "There are too many of these gang members for the police to handle. They can overpower them." Max was surprised to hear this. "Who is their leader?" he asked. "I don't know the name of the leader but he is a young boy who is in black uniform dressed like exactly like them. He is the only member of the Black Snakes that wears glasses." He talked more about the Black Snakes. Max didn't pay attention as he begins to realize who the leader is. "Is something the matter?" the guy asked. "No. Thank you. That is all I need to know." Max replied and he turned back to his car. "Wait!" the guy yelled trying to stop him. "You're not thinking about joining the Black Snakes, are you?" he asked. "No, of course not. Why?" The guy took a good look at Max, "Because your outfit is similar to what they are wearing." Max knew his uniform was similar to the Black Snake uniforms, "Maybe there is some way they can be stopped" he said as he drove away to look for ways to stop them.

It was night time as Max begins to walk around the stores. He begins to hear strange noises. He was wondering what it was so he followed the direction to wear the noise was coming from. He went into a hidden alley that had a Black Snake logo on it. He began to wonder if it was where all the gang members of the Black Snakes lived in. He peeked through the door. He saw hundreds of Black Snake members sitting around as if it was an auditorium. Max looked at the stage of the Black Snake base and just like he knew, Josh was the leader of the gang the whole time. Next to Josh was an admin leader of the gang. Max began to study him using his power of telepathy. Through Max's power, he knew that the admin leader is the boyfriend of Kate. Then Max begins to listen in on Josh's speech to the gang on what their plan is for the night. While Max was listening, he studies the gang through telepathy. All of them were the same age as Josh. Max begins to wonder if Kate even knows about these people. He continued to listen to Josh's speech.


	3. Black Snakes Attack

**Attack of the Black Snakes**

_By Maxwell Chan_

**Chapter 3**

Max was standing by the base entrance of the Black Snakes listening on Josh's speech to the gang and studying the gang at the same time using his power of telepathy. The door was wide open so it was easy to hear everything. After studying, he came into shock in what their year-long plan was since the gang was first created. That year-long plan was to kidnap Kate and take her down. Max couldn't believe it; he made a loud gasping noise. A Black Snake member who was guarding the inside heard the noise. Max ran off so the member wouldn't see him. The Black Snake guard interrupted Josh's speech, "Mr. Ethan Josh! I think someone is intruding our base!" Josh begins to think what to do, "Bring him here to me and I'll deal with it!" and he sent all members, including his admin, the boyfriend of Kate, Julian, to search for their intruder and Kate.

Max was hiding behind buildings to get away from the Black Snakes. It was hard for him to believe that for that one year when the gang was first created, they were going to do a horrible matter to Kate. Then, Max begins to hear noises, "Hello Kate! How are you doing on this fine night?" While still hiding, Max looked to see what was happening. He saw five Black Snake members walking towards Kate and Kate was just standing there looking at them strangely. Just like what Max suspected, Kate doesn't know anything about the Black Snakes. The Black Snake members began to move in closer and closer to Kate. She didn't know what was going on or what to do. Then Max got out of hiding and pulled Kate by her arm and ran off. Max ran as fast as he could while holding onto her until he lost sight of the Black Snake members. They hid in an alley, the same alley where he had beaten up Josh.

"You block me on the internet just because you think that I don't talk to you?! You're the one who never responds back!" he yelled. "When are you ever going to let all of that go? Don't you see that that is the past?" she argued. Max didn't respond as he was looking around, "We don't have time to discuss that. Right now, you are in danger. Those people that you just saw are called the Black Snakes. It's a gang created by Josh one year ago." Kate looked at Max confused, "What are you talking about?" "They are out there to kill you, even your boyfriend, Julian." Max paused for a moment and was thinking about what will be the future of the city with the Black Snakes. "Look, this may sound bizarre coming from me but, I will make sure that I don't let anything or anyone hurt you. Not even Josh and not even Julian!"

Suddenly, a Black Snake member found them. It was the admin of the gang, Julian. Julian was surprised to see Kate with someone else, "Hey you! Get your hands off her and bring her to me!" Max stepped up close to him, "And what will you do if I give her to you? Send her to the leader and kill her?" Julian got mad, "Don't be ridiculous! I am not going to do something that crazy!" Max began to scoff, "Oh really? All you're doing right now is following the orders of the leader of your gang and you call yourself a boyfriend?! What kind of boyfriend to her are you?" Julian was getting very furious, "How dare you! You're gonna pay for that! Men, get him!" Two Black Snake members jumped down from the roofs of the buildings. They both begin to attack Max. Max's eyes turned black and was ready to battle. With superior skill, Max was able to sense their attacks using his power of telepathy. He fought blocked every attack and fought back. Both Black Snake members were knocked out. Julian got out his pocket knife and started fighting Max. In Max's mind, any attack coming to him was in slow motion which made avoiding attacks really easy for him. Max avoided Julian's knife and fought back with his full force until Julian was on the ground, knocked out and couldn't move anymore. His eyes turned back to normal. He then looked at Kate, "Go! Go to someplace safe. Your house isn't safe for right now." Kate was still confused in what's happening, "What about you? What are you going to do?" Max hesitated, "I'm going to go find Josh." Kate said, "But I'm sure they're out there to look for you." "I need a word with him. Now go to a safe place and I'll catch up with you later." Kate slowly ran off to find somewhere safe. Max stared for a moment at one of the knocked out Black Snake members. He saw a pocket knife hanging out from one of their pockets.

Kate was out in the middle of the streets trying to find a safe hiding spot where no one could find her until a Black Snake member sneaked up behind her and kidnapped her. She was taken to the Black Snakes base where all of the other members were waiting. Josh was standing at the front of the stage watching as they pull Kate to the front of the area. They brought her to her knees in front of Josh. "Josh, tell me something. Is it true that this is what you've been up to?" she said. "Where did you hear that from?" he replied. "Max said that" "Max is crazy. Why would you believe that? I would never do such a crazy thing like that." Suddenly there was someone waiting at the entrance. It was none other than Max. He begins to walk slowly to Josh. Josh was surprised to see Max in his base. "So this is what you've been up to for one year from when you first created this." Max said. "What are you talking about? I would never do anything like this to her" Josh denied but Max knew that there was no denying when there are several thousands of Black Snake members inside who are following Josh's orders. "Really? She called you a best friend and you decide you want to do something as horrible as this?!" Max yelled as he slowly walked closer and closer. Then one Black Snake member stood in his way, "Don't you dare get into Josh's—"Max through a hard hit on him and the Black Snake member was down on the ground. "What are you all doing? He's just one person! Get him!" Josh ordered and the thousands of members began to attack.

Max was a strong fighter. He was not afraid to fight back against the thousand members, including some that had weapons against him. They fought and fought and fought. This went on for another five minutes until all the members gave up fighting from Max's strength. Max's eyes turn black; he grabbed a pocket knife out of his pocket and continued walking slowly to Josh. The knife was the same knife he took after fighting the Black Snakes back in the alley. "Look, I am sorry for what I did to you" Josh said as he was afraid and didn't know what to do. "It's too late. You should've said that earlier when everything happened 3 years ago" said Max. As Max was already less than a foot away from Josh, Josh pulled out a gun and points it at Max. Without giving Josh any time to react, he smacked it out of his hand, slashed Josh with his knife. Then he said his last words to him "Go ahead. I won't care if you hate me or not but I will never let you or your people hurt Kate or anyone else. Now get out of my life!" Josh slowly dies.

Max's eyes turned back to normal. He looked at Kate who was sitting there on her knees watching everything. "You should head on home now. It's getting late and I'm sure your parents are worried about you right now" he said. "Bu—""You can thank me later. We'll talk more about this tomorrow. Now head on home." So Kate ran off home. Max stood there looking at the knocked out Black Snake members. Then the police came to the base. "Hey you, is everything alright in there?" said the cop. "Yeah, you can take them all if you want. I'll help if you need it."

And thus, the Black Snakes were arrested. Just like Max knew, there was a way to stop them. Of course, there are still some members roaming around and Julian was one of them. The News got spread around the city and now everyone knows about the gang. Kate broke up with Julian after finding out he was a part of the gang. After Josh's death, Julian became the new leader of the remaining Black Snake members that stayed in the group. Some after spending jail time left the gang and became ordinary people. But it was still obvious that they were part of the gang from the gang logo tattooed onto them. What will become of the Black Snakes? What will become of Max and Kate?


	4. The Promise

**Attack of the Black Snakes**

_By Maxwell Chan_

**Chapter 4**

Max woke up after the night of the Black Snakes' arrest. He got himself dressed up, ate a morning meal and drank some tea. He was ready to begin his new day. He looked at the time on his watch and left his house.

Kate was in her room sitting on her bed and watching TV. Within a few minutes, she receives a text message on her phone. She read, "Look outside of your room window". There was no name of who sent her the message. She looked outside of her window and there she sees Max in the backyard of her house. "What is he doing here?" She thought to herself as she went downstairs from her room to the backyard.

Max was standing in Kate's backyard looking at his phone to see if his text message has been sent. Then Kate got downstairs and into the backyard. "Max, what are you doing here? How did you know where I am?" She said. Max put two fingers on the side of his forehead, "I adapted to telepathy so I can read people's minds. But enough of that, we didn't finish our conversation from last night." "What would that be?" Kate said. Max began to breathe deeply in hesitation, "Look, everything that has happened 3 years ago…I know that a simple apology doesn't always help fix everything but I want you to know that I am truly sorry. This doesn't sound believable to you but, I wanted to make it back to Josh when I came here but I couldn't believe the horrible things his gang has done." Kate looked confused, "You wanted to get back to him?" and Max nodded. "Everything I did in those 3 years—I'm over that now. You will only be just a friend to me and nothing more than that." They talked for a while later. "So what brings you here?" Kate asked. "I've been accepted to a college here and I want to explore the world a little more." Max replied. Then Kate's parents came into the backyard. "Hey you! Who are you and what are you doing here uninvited?" yelled her dad. "I don't mean to cause any harm. I am only a friend of her's" Max said. "Well you look like one of those Black Snake members that are out killing people. Get out of our house" her dad yelled. Without trying to argue back, Max walked slowly out of the backyard and back to his house. "We'll talk more later today" he said to Kate as he climbed over the fence and back home.

Max wasn't allowed anywhere on Kate's house nor was Kate allowed to go see him. From that point if they wanted to go somewhere with just the two of them, Kate would have to tell her parents that she was going to hang out with "a friend". Her parents trusted her enough for them to not know that she would hang out with Max. Max spent most of his summer exploring around Maryland and Kate was there to help him guide through what lies in this state. Every Friday, Max takes his exploring days off updating to Wendy to let her know that he was okay in Maryland.

"Where do you want to go next?" asked Kate. "Wherever you want to go" Max replied as Kate continued to accompany Max around Maryland.


	5. The Trust

**Attack of the Black Snakes**

_By Maxwell Chan_

**Chapter 5**

The month of September came and Max started his first day of college. It was the morning and Max had no idea what the college was going to be like. He stood right in front of the entrance of the school looking at the whole school. "And so we meet again" a voice said to him. Max looked around and he saw an ordinary person. He recognized him; it was the same guy who told him about the Black Snakes. "You are the guy who wanted to stop the Black Snakes correct? I've heard that they've been arrested. Could that be your doing?" he said. "It was my doing. I defeated them all by myself" Max said. The guy seemed very surprised but was impressed at the same time. "Is this your first time in this school?" he asked. "This is my first time here in this school and in Maryland" Max replied. The guy put his hand out, "This is also my first time in this school. My name is Tyler, nice to meet you." "My name is Max. Nice to meet you too" And they shook hands and became friends. Max never thought he actually was already meeting his first friend in college. From that point, Max and Tyler were hanging out every day in college. They became really good friends.

A few weeks of college has passed by. One late night Max was tired from all the work he's done all day and was ready to drive home. He parked at his house, got out and walked to the front door. When he unlocked the front door, he began to hear footsteps and he suddenly felt someone behind him. Max knew that in the dark, whoever was behind him could be anyone. His eyes turn black and he quickly pulled out his knife and turned around. But before he made a strike, he immediately notices that it was Kate that was behind him. Max's eyes turned back to normal, "Oh, it's you" he said and he put his knife away. Kate looked at Max's house. It wasn't a two story building like her house is. "So you found my house. How did you figure it out?" Max said. "I was walking around and I saw your car driving by. So I followed." Coincidentally they were both in the same neighborhood and were only just a minute away from each other. "You're trying to protect yourself from danger?" Kate asked. "Yeah, there are still Black Snake members roaming around even after the night of their arrest. Not only they are after me, but they are also after you. You should keep an eye out on them as well." Max looked at the time on his watch and looked around. "Since you're here, do you want to come inside?" he asked. "Okay."

Kate entered Max's house. She was amazed at how nice it looked inside. The kitchen was by the front door and the laundry room; across from the kitchen was the living room with the TV and couch. "You want something to eat or drink?" Max asked as he was checking his refrigerator. "What do you have?" She replied. Max grabbed some food out of the fridge and started cooking a meal for the two of them.

After the meal, Max began showing Kate around his house. They went through the hallway where they pass on by Max's bedroom, 3 guest bedrooms and a vacant room. Finally, they go to the end of the hallway and into a really big room. "And this is my office where most of my work is done in here," said Max. Kate looked around feeling amazed by how Max lives in his house. The office had an L-shaped desk with a dual monitor desktop computer, a laptop, collections of figures, posters hanging on walls, gaming TV and consoles. "How did you manage to get all of this?" She asked. "It's not easy," Max replied. He opened one of the drawers of his desk, grabbed out a key and gave it to Kate. "Here. You can come visit here anytime you want," Max said. "Are you sure about this?" Kate asked. "I am trusting you." Max looked at the time on his watch. "You should head on back home now. It's getting late. I'll see you tomorrow," he said. They said their goodbyes and Kate went on home. Thus concludes another day for the both of them.


	6. Max and Rachel

**Attack of the Black Snakes**

_By Maxwell Chan_

**Chapter 6**

One Sunday October morning, Max woke up, got dressed, ate his morning meal and did his other morning routines. He sat on his couch watching TV when his phone starts ringing. He answered, "Hey, you want to go somewhere again?" it was Kate on the phone. "Sorry, I promised a friend that we'd go visit a lakeshore" Max said. "Really? With who?" Kate asked.

It was Friday afternoon when Kate's high school was ready to leave for the day. Kate was walking with a friend to the front of the school talking when Max's car drove by. "Hey, ready to go?" Max asked and he looked at her friend. "Max, this is my friend, Rachel" Kate said. Max put his hand out, "Hi, my name is Max. Nice to meet you." Rachel and Max shook hands, "Nice to meet you too. Kate told me a lot about you" Rachel said and the three of them chat for a while and Max took Kate home from her school.

The next day, Rachel was sitting at a lake watching the river flow by. Max's car drove by and made a stop. "Hey, never thought I'd see you around here" Max said as he got out of his car. Rachel turned around and saw Max, "Oh it's you. What are you doing here?" She asked. "I should be asking the same. I'm just driving around to look at these new places" Max said as he sat at the bench next to Rachel. "You're not around here are you?" She asked. "Nope, I've been driving around places in this state. I came here from California for college" Max replied. Rachel thought for a moment, "Say, are you and Kate happen to be…" Max knew what she was going to say, "No, certainly not. We're only just friends. Why?" he interrupted. "You two seem to be with each other a lot" She said. "I'm sure you've heard of this already but there's gang around this state known as the Black Snakes and they're out looking for her. I'm making sure she's safe away from them" Max said. They talked for a while longer as they continued to look at the waters of the lake. "I've never really been to this lake before" Rachel said. "Hmm…You want to come back here and maybe walk around the beach area here tomorrow?" Max asked. And they both agreed.

Max and Kate continued talking on the phone, "So yeah, sorry. Maybe another time" Max said. "Okay, but be careful" Kate replied. Max waited until it read 2 P.M. on his clock, got his stuff ready, and started driving to the lake where he saw Rachel yesterday.

Rachel was already at the lake when Max arrived. "Ready to walk down to the beach?" he asked as he got out of his car. "Yeah" and they walk down the hill together. They were walking on the shore, talking to each other. The sunset was really nice as they were enjoying it. They spent the next hour sitting and walking around. When they got to the end of the beach, a two strange people were waiting for them. They were Black Snake members. "My, my, if it isn't the one who killed our leader, Josh," said one of the members. Max put his arm in front of Rachel to protect her, "What are you doing here?" "We came by orders of Julian. We knew if we followed his orders, we would find you anywhere we go." Then 3 more Black Snake members started to surround Max and Rachel. "Stay back, Rachel. This is going to be dangerous," Max said. Rachel was frightened and worried. The Black Snake members pulled out their knives and were ready to attack. Max's eyes begin turning black and he pulled his knife out. Then he charged at them. Knives are very short ranged weapons but Max knew how to use one very well. He treated his knife as if we he was combatting with a sword even with limited range. Rachel watched Max fight the members. "Whoa! This is just like what Kate told me," she thought to herself as she was amazed by Max's fighting skill. All but one Black Snake member was left alive. The member pulled out a gun. He was only a foot away from Max. He began rapid firing from the gun. In Max's mind, the bullets came at slow motion towards him which made deflecting and avoiding bullets easier for him. He deflected every bullet with his knife as he was making way towards the Black Snake member and made a flash attack on him. The flash attack is a quick move with a flashing white light and great range. Max can control how powerful he wanted the attack to be. In this case, the flash attack was able to kill the member.

Suddenly, a car filled with Black Snake members drove by. Max grabbed Rachel's arm and started running to his car, "We have to go!" he said. They got inside the car and they drove off. The Black Snake car was chasing after them. "Max, what's going on? I'm scared," Rachel said as Max was driving as fast as he could. "I know, don't worry, we'll get away from them." Max made a sharp turn around the corners and drove fast where they were a distance away from the Black Snakes. "Shoot! We lost him!" yelled one of the Black Snake members. Max managed to get away from them and drove Rachel back home.

Night time approached and Max arrived at Rachel's house. They walked to the front porch. "Well, it was fun," Max said. "Yeah". Max took a moment to look at the stars in the sky. Rachel stared at him and she had the look on her face where she was about to blush. Max looked back at her, "Are you alright?" he asked. Rachel shook her head, "Wha—Yeah! I'm fine!" she said as she was trying to act normal towards him. Max didn't use his telepathic powers to tell what was going on with her. "Well it's getting late so I guess we'll see each other another time?" he said. "Yeah, hopefully. Good night." And Max drove back home.

Max came home feeling tired. He sat on his couch and turned on the TV and relaxed. He heard his front door unlocking. The door opened and it was Kate. Max remembered that he did give her one of his house keys. "You showed up right when I got home," Max said as Kate stepped inside. "How was it?" Kate asked. She sat next to him on his couch and he began explaining everything him and Rachel did on the beach.


	7. A Californian Visit

**Attack of the Black Snakes**

_By Maxwell Chan_

**Chapter 7**

One afternoon, Max was taking a walk around his neighborhood. He walked one lap around and halfway around the second time, someone approached and was waiting for him. It wasn't a Black Snake member although it was a man in black uniform. "Hello, aren't you Max?" the man said. "W-why yes..?" Max said as he knew something strange was going on. The man unleashed a spin kick on Max and Max was on the ground unprepared for the attack. Max wasn't wearing his black uniform which meant that he didn't have his powers. He tried to fight back but the man kept attacking until Max was low on his energy and was on one knee. "Heheh, not bad for someone like you. I am Donnie, a friend of Wendy from California. I came to look for you because I've heard recent whereabouts from you and her." Max was in shock to know it. "You moved here to college right? Well while you're doing that, I'm going back to California because Wendy and I are going to have some sweet time together. And my gang is gonna be there to see it! Good luck trying to get back to her! WAHAHAHA." "Y-You're n-not getting away f-from this!" Max said weakly as he was slowly getting up. But Donnie didn't hear him and left.

Max was trying to recover from the beating he got from Donnie. He didn't know what to do. He knew that Donnie was planning something terrible to Wendy. He ran back inside his house, got his black uniform on, his knife and luggage. He was ready to fly back to California to stop Donnie. Max put two fingers on the side of his forehead to use his telepathic powers and was foreseeing what Donnie and his gang were planning to Wendy. Then, he got out of his house and to his car. As he got inside Kate was walking towards his house, "Max, where are you going? You don't look too good?" she said. "Wendy is in trouble!" Max said as he was starting up the engine. "What do you mean? Who's Wendy?" Kate said. "I'll explain later. I have to go back to California and help her! I'll be back in a week." And Max drove off to the airport to California. "Don't worry Wendy! I'm coming for you!" Max thought to himself.

Max arrived in California. He stepped out of the airport and began to use telepathy to foresee where Donnie and his gang went. He foresees Wendy and Donnie going into a Californian mall. Max knows where it is located but he doesn't have a car to get there. He called up a taxi car to get him to the mall.

When Max entered the mall, it was crowded with shoppers. He can tell which ones were shoppers and which ones were just Donnie's gang just loitering around the mall. Max paid no attention to anyone as he started running around the mall to look for Donnie and Wendy. He looked everywhere, stores, rest areas, and different floors. He searched for 20 minutes and there was no sign of Donnie and Wendy. Max wasn't ready to give up and was starting to think that they could be anywhere if he looked one more time around the mall.

Max went to start from entrance to top floor all over again. As he was making his way downstairs to the entrance, he saw from a distance from the second floor to the entrance, Wendy and Donnie. Then he started rushing down the stairs to first floor. He stopped at the very last stair step and watched Wendy and Donnie walk by. "WENDY!" Max yelled and suddenly a mine went off from where Max was standing and it blew up. Wendy and Donnie immediately noticed him. Max was sent flying over and landed 6 feet away from Donnie and Wendy and 2 feet away from the entrance door. He laid there, everyone stopped shopping, it grew quiet, and Wendy looked at Max feeling worried. She tried making the first step towards him but Donnie put his arm in front of her to prevent her from moving. Then people of Donnie's gang started to walk downstairs to see the commotion. A black aura started to appear and surround Max as he was slowly getting up. Once he got up, he opened his black eyes and he was ready to fight. "Get away from her!" he said and he charged straight after Donnie. He jumped kicked Donnie. Donnie fell to the ground. Then his gang members started charging after Max. But Max fought back and knocked out all of the members until they were all knocked out on the ground.

Wendy ran to Max's side and as Donnie was getting up, Max got his knife out. "Hmhmhm, I never thought you would actually come all the way here for this" Donnie said. "No matter where I am, I will protect her by my side!" Max said. "Let's have a fair fight without using that knife of yours shall we?" Donnie said and Max put his knife away. They both were ready to begin the battle. They started to charge and began to fight. They were blocking every punch, kick, but after a while, Donnie unleashed the same spin kick on Max from when he first met him. Max took the hit and suddenly, Max felt like he was getting stronger from the attack. He felt that the real battle was beginning so he kept fighting and went all out aggressive on Donnie. He eventually broke Donnie's guard and was comboing Donnie with punches, kicks and other attacks. He kept going until Donnie was on the ground and couldn't fight anymore. Max turned back to normal and the shopping guards started to come downstairs. They looked at Donnie and his gang and at Max and Wendy. "Go ahead, take them away" Max said. And Donnie and his gang were taken away from the mall and were arrested.

"Max, what were you doing here? I thought you were in Maryland for college?" Wendy said to Max as they were watching the guards take the gang away. "I knew you were in trouble so I had to come and help" he said. "How?" Wendy asked. He put two fingers on the side of his forehead, "Through telepathy". Wendy didn't believe it at first and Max explained it to her. "Do you have a place to stay while you're here?" She asked. "Let's stay at your place for the week that I have here" Max said. Together they both stayed over at Wendy's house for that whole week. After the week was over, it was time for Max to head on back to Maryland. They said their goodbyes and Max left for the airport to Maryland.

Max arrived back in Maryland and drove back home. As soon as he parked at his driveway, he heard noises and screaming. He got out of his car to look around. Then he saw a Black Snake member holding Kate by the throat, holding a knife in his hand. Kate was gasping for air. Then a flash attack slashed onto the Black Snake member and the Black Snake member is dead. Kate fell on her knees trying to breathe. Max put his hand out to help her out, "Are you okay?" he asked. Kate grabbed his hand to get up. They both walked to Max's house and Max started talking about his week at California and how Wendy was alright from harm's sake.


	8. Kate's New Power

**Attack of the Black Snakes**

_By Maxwell Chan_

**Chapter 8**

It was Spring Break for both Max and Kate. They both walked around the park where they first encountered each other. They walk into the alley where Josh was beaten and Max began to make a stop. Kate noticed his eyes were closed, "Max, is something the matter?" She asked. Max didn't answer as he was visioning his past. "Max? Max?" Kate tried to snap him out. Max opened his eyes. "Whoa-What? What happened?" he said. She looked at him strangely, "You haven't been acting yourself lately. Is something wrong?" Max looked around the alley and then answered, "I've been thinking about that night where….I killed Josh…" Kate didn't say anything and started to worry about Max. "When I first arrived here in Maryland, I wanted to make up for what I've done to you and him…" he continued. "You haven't let all of that go?" She asked. "The more I thought about it, the more it keeps coming back to me…" Max said as he stared at the ground. Kate started to get upset. "You're never gonna let things go, are you?" She yelled. "The past is the past! Whatever happened in the past has already happened! It's too late! You can't go back!" She continued on but Max didn't listen.

Kate went on for another minute and Max was starting to think that someone was behind her. He looked over her shoulder and he did see someone. "Are you listening to me?!" Kate yelled. Max didn't answer as he saw the person pulling out a knife. He pulled out his knife, and pushed Kate really hard out of the way, into the wall, and the two knives meet up. It was a Black Snake member. Max's eyes turn black. "Hmph. I was overhearing an argument between you two so I figured if you both were doing that, you two wouldn't be friends anymore. So I wanted to do the job of killing her for you," the Black Snake member said. "Even if I wasn't her friend, I would still protect her from the likes of you!" Max said, trying to hold onto the grip of the knives. "Ah, so you really did mean to take her away from our leader, Julian. How dare you do such a thing!" said the Black Snake member. "Nonsense" said Max and they both started to fight. The battle ended very quickly when Max disarmed the Black Snake member's knife, dropped it and slashed him with his knife. The Black Snake member falls to his death. Max's eyes turned back to normal and he put his knife away. He looked at Kate, "Do you still hate me after I just saved you from near death?" he said. Kate looked surprised and speechless. "Remember that promise I made to you on the night of the Black Snakes' arrest, I will not let anything or anyone hurt you no matter the situation," Max continued. Kate started to remember back on that night and was glad to have Max around to protect her. "Hey, why don't we stop by my house? I got something for you," Max said. They walked out of the alley and the park, got into Max's car and drove to his house.

They got into Max's office. Max pulled his knife out, "I want you to have this," he said. Kate was looking confused, "But isn't this yours?" she asked. "It was but now I'm giving it to you. Well, it really wasn't mine to begin with," Max said. "I stole this knife from a Black Snake member on the night of their arrest. I recently stole another one that's just like this one. I'll be fine. Don't worry about me." She then took the knife, "Thanks but why are you giving this to me?" she asked. "I want you to protect yourself from any danger." He replied. Then they both went to the backyard of Max's house.

Max began to train Kate how to use the knife that he gave her. "Now, what you need to know if that a knife isn't just a weapon of stabbing people" he said. "Most people don't understand that so it's easy for you in battle to counter them with proper technique and reflexes. Try to imagine using a short-ranged sword." He trained her for a few hours during that afternoon. Each time they fought, Kate was getting stronger and stronger with her new weapon. Max was impressed each time Kate was improving.

Evening struck and they both were getting tired. "I think it's time we call it off for the day?" Max asked. "No. I want one more match" Kate said. They both looked exhausted but if Max knew that if Kate was ready for one more match, she's ready for it. They pulled their knives out and the battle began. Kate used every single skill and technique she was taught and Max did what he could to defend every attack. Then it was Max's turn to attack. He wasn't using his powers at all during battle as Kate was using her defense. She struggled but she knew that Max was never trying to kill or injure her. They kept attacking, blocking and deflecting every hit landed on both of them and then their knives met up and froze into position. They tried to struggle out of the position. But then Max put the blade of the knife back into the handle. Kate looked surprised, "That's gonna do for today," Max said and he put his knife away. "You're doing very well with your technique but you need to work on your defense a little more if you want to defend yourself against the real enemies." Kate, looking very exhausted, felt very happy. She thanked him for the training and they went back inside Max's house. Max cooked them both dinner and Kate headed off home.


	9. Attack of the Black Snakes

**Attack of the Black Snakes**

_By Maxwell Chan_

**Chapter 9**

The day was June 20, 2018 and it marked exactly one week since Max's first year of college went by. Max had the TV on over at the living room while he was grabbing himself a drink. As he was pouring, the TV went straight to breaking news. "We interrupt this program to something very shocking that is going on right now at the town square," said the announcer. Max sat down and started to watch this scene. He saw pictures and clips of terrified people, explosions, killings and many other terrible things. Then the announcer announced Black Snakes. Max knew this wasn't something good. He continued to watch and listen for another few minutes and then he got up, got dressed in his black uniform, grabbed his knife and ran over to Kate's house.

Max hasn't been over to Kate's house ever since the day they became friends. He climbed over the fence to get to her backyard and he tried to call for her through her room window. "Kate! Kate!" he yelled. But there was no sign of her answering. Max put his two fingers on the side of his forehead and used telepathy to look for Kate. Sure enough, nobody wasn't home. Max knew that wherever Kate is, she isn't safe. He climbed over the fence again and ran back home. But he made one more stop as he noticed a paper taped on the front door of her house. He grabbed the paper and started reading it. The paper read, "Come to the town square and we'll talk – The Black Snakes". Then his eyes started turning black, he dropped the paper and ran to his car and started driving to the town square.

When Max arrived at the town square, he was shocked at the event that was going on. Black Snake members were everywhere causing a massacre around the square. He saw people getting chased, attacked, beaten, shot, bombed, knifed, and killed. There were even police officers trying to fight back against the Black Snakes and there were ambulance trucks taking the injured people into care. Max was horrified by this terrible scene; he did not know what to do. He started to run into his first direction and as soon as he started running, he bumped into two people who were unharmed by the crisis. "Whoa, excuse you! It's you!" said one of the people. "You're the parents of Kate!" Max said. "We never expected to see you again." said Kate's father. "We don't have time for that! Where's Kate? I know she's in danger!" said Max. "You know why she's in danger? Because you and your people are causing all of this havoc to happen!" said her father. "Don't give me this nonsense now!" Max yelled. "And why should we listen to you?" Kate's father asked.

At that moment, two Black Snake members jumped in from both sides of Max and started attacking. Max counter attacked one of the members and was able to knock him down. The second one got his knife out but Max pulled his knife out and started deflecting every attack the member was doing. Max then disarmed the member's knife and flash attacked him and he was dead. Kate's parents watched him fight them and realized that Max wasn't really a part of the Black Snakes all along as they thought. "They took Kate hostage over at the radio tower over there", Kate's mom said as she pointed to the distance, a tall tower. Max took a good look at the tower and back at the parents. "What are they planning to do with her in that tower?" Max asked. "I don't know. But you must save her", Kate's mom said in fear. Then a mine was set off from where they were standing. Max and Kate's parents got hit. As soon as Max stood up from the hit, he saw Kate's parents buried down under parts of collapsed buildings. He rushed to them and started to unpile the bricks and stones and helped them both out of there. They were badly injured from both the explosion and the building parts. Max got on his knees and tried to feel them to see if they were alive. Kate's mom with barely enough energy, lifted her hand up towards Max, "Y-you…m-must…s-save…our d-daughter…", she said very weakly and both parents lost consciousness. Max began to worry for them but he knew that this wasn't the time to be tearing up. His eyes turned black, he stood up, he pulled out his knife and started to run straight over to the radio tower. The radio tower was only a few miles of running distance away. Along the path, there was a Black Snake member standing there with his gun out and was ready to shoot. Max wasn't afraid as he kept running. The Black Snake member started to fire 3 bullets at Max. Max deflected all of the shots and flash attacked him and kept running. The Black Snake member died. "I never wanted to use this weapon to kill lots of people but it looks like I'm gonna have to!" Max thought to himself as he continued to run straight for the radio tower.

The entrance of the radio tower had two Black Snake members armed with a gun and a knife. They saw Max approaching and got their guns ready. They began to fire and Max dodged and deflected every bullet coming towards him. The members started to run out of bullets. As they were reloading their guns, it left them vulnerable where Max was able to kill them both and Max succeeds in doing so. And he is now inside the tower. All of the people who work at the tower were already out before the gang took over. As soon as he got inside there were more Black Snake members waiting for him at the entrance. They started firing away with their guns. Max quickly took cover in a hiding spot and waited until they ran out of ammo and that would be his turn to strike. Once all the members were killed, Max progressed up the stairs. It was going to be a long climb for him to get to the top and he knows that he has to do it all by himself. He killed every Black Snake member that was in his way or approached him.

Max got onto the third floor of the tower. He saw a security room and made way into it. When he entered, there was a Black Snake member. He noticed Max right away and took charge. Max made a slash before the member was able to attack and the member died. The security room was a small room with lot of screens of the cameras. Max pulled a switch to disable the cameras, he used the dead Black Snake member's knife to break the security machine so any other Black Snake member who try, can't enable the cameras anymore. This gave Max more room to sneak around the tower for members who tried to search for him. Max got out of the security room and continued progressing up the stairs of the tower. There were more Black Snake members on his climb up to the tower but he never made a stop against them.

Max made it to the floor before the top floor. He saw a Black Snake member guarding a room. Max walked up to him. The Black Snake member pulled out his gun, "Freeze! Don't take another step!" the member said. Max stopped, "What you didn't say was, don't move a muscle", as he threw his knife at the member and he died. Max searched around the member and took his card key. The card key was to open any door of the tower. He used the card key to open the door the member was guarding. Max's eyes turn back to normal. When he got inside, immediately he noticed Kate. "Kate!" Max yelled as he runs over to her. "Max!" Kate yelled back, "I knew you would come all the way over here". She was handcuffed and her legs were tied down on the floor. Max pulled his knife and slashed the handcuffs apart and untied the ropes of her legs. "Are you alright?" Max asked. "Yeah", Kate replied. "Where's Julian?" Max said. "He's at the top floor. It's upstairs from this room", Kate said. "Alright, you still have that knife I gave you?" Max said. Kate pulled her knife out. Then three Black Snake members came into the room. "Intruders! How did you get in here?" said one of the members. "Let's get rid of them, Kate!" Max said and him and Kate pulled their knives out to fight them. As Max killed the first member, he watched Kate kill the second one and the third tried to strike at Kate. Kate was losing her defense against him but Max came to the help and slashed the third member. "You're getting much better from the start I first trained you", Max said as they put their weapons away.

When they stepped out of the room, Max made a stop right at the stairs to the top floor. "Kate, I want you to head back outside", he said without looking at Kate. "What? Why? I want to help you too", Kate replied. Max turned towards her direction, "Kate, Julian is dangerous. I don't want you getting hurt right after I just saved you" he said. "Do you not know? They set up a bomb that can blow up this whole tower!" Kate said. Max became shocked, "What?! Where is it?" he said. "It's hidden somewhere deep down. I don't know where it is. Even if you find it, there's no way to set it off. The tower is gonna blow up no matter what! But there is a way to stop the bomb that'll blow up the whole city. Julian has the detonator", Kate said firmly. Max thought to himself in fear for what may happen to the city, "If what you're saying is true, then I still want you to go back." Kate started to worry for Max, "I can help you wi—""Kate, your parents are in danger. They've been hit by a mine explosion. They need your help. It would be stupid of me to let you die right after you've been rescued!" Max interrupted. Kate gasped and was concerned. She then nodded, "Okay, I will go back" she said. "I will meet you outside over at the town square" Max said. Kate ran down the stairs and outside of the tower. Now it was up to Max to stop Julian from this terrible crime scene. "Alright Julian, I'm going to get you!" Max said to himself as he ran up the stairs to the top floor.


	10. Max vs Julian

**Attack of the Black Snakes**

_By Maxwell Chan_

**Chapter 10**

Max made the long climb up the stairs to the top floor where the director's office is held. He knew that it was all up to him to save everyone and he can't give up. He opened the door to the director's office. There he saw Julian sitting at the desk. Julian stood up and walked in front of the desk. "Hmph, I knew someone like you would come this far", he said. Max made no response as he stood there with his knife out. "So you have taken Kate away from me," Julian said. "I wouldn't exactly say that I took her away from you," Max said, "The term 'taking her away from you' would mean that we would be dating. Because we're not, she's the one who left you. And it's all because for these two years this gang was created, you kept that secret from her. Why did you do it?" Julian chuckled a little bit, "Because I knew with her kind heart she would go against my job but as a follower of the original leader, Ethan Josh Gonzales, I must do my job after him." Julian opened the window that was behind the desk. "Your arrival here is very fortunate. Listen to the voices of terror and the sounds. This city will soon be taken over by us, the Black Snakes! Once we're successful, we're gonna take over the whole state! And even the entire country!" he said with evil laughter. "You wouldn't dare to do that!" Max said. "Oh I will! And everyone is gonna obey us and if anyone disobeys, we'll take them down. And since you won't be on our side, you'll be the first to be punished! As payback for taking Kate, and as revenge for our original leader, Josh, it's time to die! And how about we have a fair fight without any weapons?" Julian said. "Fine", Max said and he put his knife away. Then his eyes started turning black and was ready to battle.

They started the battle with a tackle. Max landed a few punches on Julian but Julian got up very quickly and started attacking. They blocked each other's punches, kicks and many other attacks. Julian wasn't as pathetic against Max as he was on the night of the Black Snakes' arrest. Since he took over Josh's spot as leader, he trained the whole gang more aggressively. Max has noticed that since the night of their arrest. Max was starting to lose his defense after blocking so many attacks from Julian. Then after ten minutes of fighting, Julian began to combo Max with his many attacks. Not even Max's powers could detect those hits coming towards him as he was now brutally beaten by Julian. He was knocked back against a wall and was on one knee trying to regain energy. Julian stood right in front of him, "Not bad for someone your liking. But it looks like I have won the battle. Look at you, you can't even get up with the amount of energy lost from you" he said laughably. "You see, I'm not like what I was the last time we fought. As the powerful leader of the Black Snakes, I will succeed in this take-over." Max was too exhausted from the fighting to answer to him. He began to think that it was going to be the end for him and the end for the whole city. He also started to think what would happen if the Black Snakes really did take over the whole state. It wasn't a pleasant thought. In this vision, he was seeing every person in Mayland getting chased around by armed Black Snake members. There were buildings set on fire and were being destroyed. The people were dying from the gang. The more Max thought about this vision, the more he knew that this was no time to be fooling around.

"What's the matter?" Julian said, "Did you really give up? I guess you are a lot weaker than I thought" He picked up his knife from the desk and stood in front of Max again. "Sorry, but it looks like I've won the battle. Now it's time to finish you off." The blade was pointing towards Max. He lifted the knife upwards and swung it down to Max's head. But before it landed on his head, another knife came up and blocked the dropping. Max's knife was right above his head trying to defend off Julian's knife. Max's eyes begin turning black once more. "I won't let you take over this place!" Max said as he was slowly standing up. "Ugh! Why do you insist on getting in my way? Why does this all matter to you?" Julian yelled. "At this very moment, I'm going to stop you as Kate's friend!" Max shouted. And so the real fight begins. They were knifing. They blocked each other's knife attacks. Then Julian started struggling to defend Max's attacks. They stopped attacking for a brief moment, "I guess you can't use the right amount of power as much as you want!" Max said. Julian grunted and continued fighting but Max kept defending and when it was his chance he attacked. Then their knives collide with each other. Both of them put in much force until Max slashed Julian's knife out of his hand and the knife flew out of the window. At that moment, Julian knew that he was doomed and it was Max's turn to strike back. Max made one powerful flash attack and Julian got one serious cut through his body. As Julian was slowly falling to the ground, he made one last evil smile toward Max and was laughing very weakly, "Even if…you kill me…there's still…no way to…stop the whole…city…from…blowing up…" his last words said and he slowly made his death.

Max's eyes turned back to normal. He defused the detonator to stop the city bomb from exploding but there was still the problem that there was no way in stopping the tower bomb from blowing up. Max began to fall to his knees and was feeling very weak, "Ugh, what is this? I'm slowly losing energy…" he thought to himself. "No, I can't possibly lose, not now!" He tried to stand up but it was useless. He was brutally beaten from the long battle against Julian. He knew at this point, he would also be doomed with Julian. He began to envision the one he loved the most, Wendy. Once his energy couldn't handle anymore, he started to fall slowly to the ground, "I'm…sorry…Wendy…" he said to himself. As he laid on the ground next to Julian's dead body. At that moment, the timer on the tower bomb ticked zero and the whole tower started to blow up. Not a single Black Snake member that was inside the tower survived. "Wendy…I'm sorry…I didn't make it back to you alive", Max thought to himself as he was falling from the collapsing tower.

Meanwhile in the town square, the police were arresting the Black Snake member and the doctors came to take the wounded people into the ambulance trucks. Kate watched the doctors take her parents into the trucks while she was helping with the doctors. Everything was starting to clean up while Julian and Max were fighting in the tower. "Is this everyone out of the tower?" said one of the doctors. "I think", Kate replied. But then a frightened look showed on her face. "What's the matter?" said one of the doctors. Kate forgot that Max was still in the radio tower fighting Julian. "There's still one more person inside the tower!" Kate said in fear. Right at that moment, Kate, the doctors and the police began to hear an explosion. Kate turned around and looked. She saw the radio tower from the distance blow up and was collapsing. She gasped and was very concerned. She started to run back to the radio tower. "Ma'am!" said a doctor. But Kate did not stop as she continued running to look for Max.

When she arrived at the tower, she looked at the collapsed piled mess. Everything was destroyed. "Max! Max!" Kate yelled as she looked everywhere for Max. There was nothing. She looked down at the ground and saw a pair of glasses. When she picked them up, she knew they belonged to Max. She continued to look and there she found him lying on the ground. "Max!" she yelled as she ran towards him. She shook Max's body but he wasn't waking up. He was complete unconscious and was badly injured. "Max…" Kate said. She was beginning to feel really worried. Tears started coming down her eyes. "Don't worry. He's not dead", a voice said. Kate looked around to see where the voice was coming from. It was Tyler, Max's first college friend and the first person he met on the encounter of the Black Snakes. "He's still alive. He just had a very tough battle and has used up most of his energy. He needs to rest", he said. "Are you sure about this?" Kate said. "Yes. That big explosion that just happened, it takes way more than just that to take him out completely", Tyler said. Kate looked confused, "How do you know this?" she asked. "I'm a friend of his, from college. I know the power he holds", he replied. "Now he must be taken to care." "What do you mean? Like a hospital?" Kate said. Tyler closed his eyes for a brief second, "A hospital won't do him any good", he said. "Then, what should I do?" Kate asked in fear. "The person who he has saved several times throughout his journey can help him. That is to say, only you can save him", Tyler said. Kate started to look surprised, "You're telling me to take him over to my house and make him—", Kate said. "Yes. Do not worry. It won't be such a difficult task. I believe in you. You can do it. Please, you must help him out," Tyler said firmly. Tears stopped dripping down from Kate's eyes as she knew that if she didn't want Max to go, she knew that she had to take Tyler's word. So Kate took Max to her house where he rests.


	11. Hero of Maryland

**Attack of the Black Snakes**

_By Maxwell Chan_

**Chapter 11**

On the night of July 5, 2014 when Max was playing online cards with his friends, one friend showed him a private conversation with Ethan Josh. Max took a look at it. He read some very strange things on the conversation. Josh quickly found out that his friend spread it onto Max and was afraid that Max was going to spread it among others. So he got mad at both his friend and Max. He told Kate about it and both Kate and Josh turned against Max. That's when Max started to feel as depressed as ever. Max left the game and call with his friends and started clenching his fists. "JOOOOSSSSHHHHH!" he shouted out loud.

"AH!" Max yelled as he lifted his head from a bed. "I'm alive!" he said to himself. His eyes were black. He wasn't in a hospital room or his house. He saw the purple background on the walls. He looked around the room. Everything looked familiar to him. Then he saw Kate sitting next to the bed. Max's eyes turned back to normal, "Kate", he said. "You finally woke up", Kate said. "Where am I?" Max asked. "This is…my room", Kate said. Max looked around once more. He's never seen the inside of Kate's house before. He looked at the small table that was next to Kate's bed. There lies his phone, keys, glasses, and knife as well as a clock. He looked at the clock. It read 3:00 P.M. "How long was I out?" he asked. "Exactly 24 hours" she replied. Max took a look at himself and back at Kate. "What is happening to the city right now?" he asked.

Just then, the TV in Kate's room went into breaking news. "A massive attack happened yesterday at the town square of Maryland" the announcer said. Then clips showed wounded and killed people, as well as police arresting stray Black Snake members who survived the attack. It even showed the Radio Tower blowing up. "A college student who goes by the name, Maxwell Chan was willing to risk his life to save thousands of people all by himself from this horrible gang." And it showed a clip of Kate carrying Max. Max got a surprised look on his face, "You carried me all the way here?" he asked. She nodded. "Maxwell Chan will always be known for his courageous act to save the city", the announcer said. Max started to feel down, "But…I let the radio tower get destroyed…" he said. "But you did save everyone from them. It was better than letting this whole city explode", Kate said as she patted Max on the shoulder. "My parents want to see you", she said. Max looked at Kate, "They do? What could they possibly want from me?" Max asked. "I don't know but they are in the hospital right now", Kate replied. Max got out of Kate's bed and Kate stood up from her seat. "Let's go together", Kate said.

As Max and Kate were walking down the stairs from Kate's room, Max looked around the house, "So you live here. Must be a very nice place to live in", he said. Kate didn't respond as they made way outside to the front door. When they got outside, Max saw his car parked in the front of the driveway. "You even drove my car all the way here?" Max asked. "Yeah, it wasn't very hard to figure out", Kate said. They got inside his car and Max started driving to the hospital.

They arrived at the hospital. Max and Kate entered the hospital room where Kate's dad is. Her dad lifted his head against the bed to look at the two of them. "Your name is Max, correct? I'd like to thank you for saving and protecting our daughter", he said. Max started to feel nervous inside of him, "It's nothing. I'm sorry for causing you and the family trouble", Max said. "You shouldn't have to apologize. It's our fault that we misunderstood you as one of the Black Snakes when it was you all along that has been trying to stop them", Kate's father said. "Say, are you the one that Kate's been telling us that she has a strong interest on?" Max and Kate looked surprised. Max was beginning to feel a little embarrassed. "N-No, it's not like that. We're only just friends" he said. "Oh, because you two seem to be around each other a lot", Kate's dad said. Max took a deep breath, "I made a promise to her saying that I would never let anything or anyone hurt her" and he explained how everything first started between him and Kate. "I see. You've shown much bravery to her and everyone else", her father said. "Where is her mom? Is she alright?" Max asked. "She's next door. You don't have to worry. You should go outside and let the city see you," her father replied. "Why is that?" Max asked. "You probably heard the news when you woke up, didn't you", Kate's dad said. "The news is all over the country. The whole state knows about you. Everyone is out there thinking that you are dead after you were hit during the explosion of the radio tower." Then a doctor came into the room, "I'm afraid I must ask you to let him rest," he said to Max and Kate. "I don't have much to offer for what you've done for the city but you may come over to see her any time you want", Kate's dad said as Max and Kate stood up to leave the hospital room.

Max and Kate stood in front of the entrance of the hospital room, "So what do you want to do now?" Kate asked. Max looked at the date and time on his watch. The day read Friday. "Before I want to do anything, I want to stop by my house," he said. "Every Friday I take a break from my daily activities to talk to Wendy." They got into Max's car and Max started driving home.

They went into Max's office of his house. Max checked on his computer to see if Wendy was online to talk. Her status was offline. Max was surprised to see that because they would usually be online on Fridays. "Hmm…Maybe she's doing something important right now", Max said. "What sort of important thing?" Kate asked. Max didn't answer, instead he came up with a different topic, "Hey, there's an art museum that I want to check out. I heard it's really cool. You want to come with me to see it?" he said. "Sure", Kate said and they went back outside and drove to the museum.

On their way to the museum they took a walk around the river where Max first encountered Rachel. Max and Kate walked and talked on the sidewalk of the beach. "So I'm now officially known around this state", Max said. "Doesn't it feel great?" Kate asked. "I guess so. Actually Kate, college is one reason I moved here but my real reason was to make things right for myself, you and Josh", Max informed. "I see. So you didn't always hated Josh?" Kate said. Max shook his head as they kept walking and soon they were out of the beach zone. "So yesterday, when I went up to the radio tower to get you, what happened that got you up there?" Max asked. "Well my parents and I went grocery shopping. I wondered off from them to see what I could get for myself until a Black Snake member walked into the store and snuck behind me", Kate continued to tell her story. She kept walking but Max didn't listen as he made a stop and froze into position. He had a surprised look on his face. "Max?" Kate said and she also stopped for him. "Wendy", Max said as he saw someone from a distance walking around carrying a heavy luggage around. Just as he thought, it did turn out to be Wendy in Maryland. Kate started to look confused about Max until she looked at where he was looking. "Wendy!" Max yelled and he ran towards the direction of Wendy. He kept running until his arms were tightly wrapped around Wendy.

"Oh Wendy, I missed you so much!" Max said as they let go of the hugging. "I did too. I heard what happened to you on the news. Were you okay?" Wendy said. "I am fine now", Max said. "So what brings you here in Maryland?" he asked. "I applied to a college over here", Wendy said. Max began to feel excited, "Really?! That's so awesome!" Kate finally caught up to them. "Oh, I guess I haven't introduced you two yet", Max said. "Kate, this is Wendy and Wendy this is my friend, Kate." They began to look at each other to figure out how to greet each other. "Oh, so you are the one that Max kept talking to me about", Wendy said. "Wait, really?" Kate said, looking confused. Max and Wendy began to explain about their weekly talks and chats. Then they talked for a while longer. "So Wendy, I assume you don't have a place to stay, do you?" Max asked. "Um…I don't", Wendy said. "Well you can stay over at my place if you want. I have three empty rooms open", Max suggested. Wendy said yes and Max helped her carry her stuff to Max's car and Kate tagged along. "We can visit the art museum at another time", Max said to Kate as he drove her and Wendy to his house.

And so Wendy moves into Max's house in Maryland to attend the same college that Max attends. She becomes a part of Max and Kate's journey throughout the state. Max felt very happy for Wendy to move in. Kate still continued to visit Max's house whenever she had a chance and they did the same in return. Kate and Wendy became great friends. Max became known around for saving the state and disbanding the Black Snakes. "Hero of Maryland" was what the people referred to him as. Of course, there are still stray Black Snake members who are roaming around to seek revenge on Max and Kate but without a leader to lead them. But the city continues to live in peace.


End file.
